Wind Farm Debate Continues to Blow Through Derby

February 7, 2012

By

Laura Carpenter

DERBY- A Public Service Board (PSB) Pre-hearing Conference on the proposed Derby Wind Turbine development is scheduled for Feb. 13 in Montpelier.
Derby Select Board member Karen Jenne asked the board if she could attend the meeting as a board member, but not all board members were comfortable with the idea. Jenne has expressed her opposition to the project and many residents have also contacted Jenne expressing their concerns with the proposal.
Jenne has taken time to research the issues and has developed a list of questions for the developers of the project.
Monday evening, at the select board's regular meeting, Jenne asked about the PSB meeting.
Immediately, select board member Laura Dolgin said Jenne was welcome to go to the meeting as a community member only, not to represent the board.
Select board member Beula-Jean Shattuck said she didnâ€™t have a problem with Jenne going to the meeting, but Dolgin said that Jenne has already stated her opposition and the full board has not taken an official stand on the project.
Jenne said she may or may not say anything at the pre-hearing conference, but she wanted the town to be involved in the process and to be there to bring back information.
Select board chairman Brian Smith asked Bob Kelley, the townâ€™s zoning administrator, if he would go as a town employee. Kelley agreed to go.
Jenne said she is still planning to go to the meeting.
Chad Farrell of Encore Redevelopment, the Burlington firm developing the project, would like to hold a public meeting on the proposed project, Smith announced at the meeting. Farrell's suggestion, according Smith, is to hold a breakfast meeting during the week but select board members said that they could not leave work for the meeting nor did they think members of the public could either. The possibly of having the meeting on a Saturday morning or a weekday evening was discussed, but no date was scheduled as of Monday evening.
Smith said Farrell intends to invite guests from New York to talk about turbines, but he did not have any details about who those guests are.
Farrell wants to construct two turbines, each more than 400 feet tall, on two farms just east of Derby Line near the Canadian border.